


Working towards divinity

by Vandettaotaku



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Child Abuse, M/M, One Shot, Other, Religious Themes, Victorian Era AU, but not graphic, they're children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22120075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandettaotaku/pseuds/Vandettaotaku
Summary: Life in the reign of Queen Victoria is hard at the best of times. Even more so if you're poor. No one knew this better than Lukas. But sometimes the salvation you search for your entire life is not where you are directed to find it.
Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia)
Kudos: 10





	Working towards divinity

One day, Mathias had a coughing fit. 

Lukas wouldn't have thought anything of it. All of them had coughs, that the pastor yelled were God's retribution on them for being evil and not loving Him like they should. He loved them, so He wanted to see them in His house on Sunday. 

And, when they couldn't go because they had to work to be able to have food, they got beaten on Monday.

Of course, this made perfect sense to everyone apart from the children whom it was practiced on.

No, what was strange about this time was that he kept coughing. Loud, hacking coughs with shallow rattles of in-breaths between them, continuing as he turned rose and dropped his hoe, almost folding double in his attempts to cough up what he had to. Lukas stopped his work, eyes widened in worry, trying to step closer and do something to help, anything. A quick crack of the whip soon sent him back to his work, having to simply join the others in sending worried glances back to the Danish boy, still trying to regain his breath as the foreman cussed at him and yelled and cuffed him repeatedly around the head until he was able to rejoin the line, paler than before but still able to send him a quick, reassuring grin.

It was a few days later when he heard Mathias whimpering and sniffling softly in the middle of the night, looking over to find him tossing and turning, hiding his face in the rough blanket every now and then to muffle grating, painful coughs. He hesitated before sitting up, shuffling over to sit beside him and quietly ask what was wrong. 

A headache. So bad that he couldn't get comfortable, couldn't sleep, was (although he tried to hide it, he could see) almost crying from the pain. A dry parched, raw throat that was granted no respite from the divine punishment. 

All he could think of to do was to fetch him a little water, keeping an eye out for the foreman as he gulped it down, and then gently smooth and stroke his hair, talking to him softly and soothingly about nothing and everything until, when he heard the first twitters of birds, he fell asleep with his head resting gently in his lap. A couple of hours sleep wasn't much, but it was something.

Two weeks, and Mathias didn't get up in the morning, blinking bleary-eyed and confused, all pink cheeks and sweat and too-shiny eyes up at him as he tried to shake him, urge him into moving, getting up, that they had to work despite the bitter cold and the dark sky. His best attempts went unheeded, the Dane shaking his head lethargically as he plucked at the blanket, pulling it up and over his head. Any further attempts were prevented by the arrival of the foreman, booming in his scarily loud voice at them to get outside, get to work, that he shouldn't need to remind them that if they didn't work they didn't eat. 

Lukas could only scurry outside with the rest, forcing himself to stay there and listen to the foreman discover Mathias, yell, kick, drag him outside by his hair despite his weak protests, shoving a hoe into his hands and sneering as the force made him stumble backwards, shivering and barefoot on the frozen ground.

When Mathias fell later, couldn't seem to do anything except feebly try and push himself up as the foreman hurled abuse at him, he was the one to try and step in, stand up to him and plead for him to at least let him try to get him upright. That earnt him a hard punch, ears ringing as he crashed to the floor beside the Dane and clutching his cheek, tears welling in his eyes.

Mathias tried to apologise later after being dragged back at the end of the day, voice faltering and eyes watering as he tried to touch the dark bruise with trembling, bony fingers. Of course, nothing he said could desist him. So he endured the recommendations of flowers and herbs and poultices that they would never be able to afford, endured the light kiss placed on his hand with dry, chapped, burning lips to 'make it better'. Endured Mathias' constant apologies for not doing anything to protect him, the bewildered queries for why he tried to do that, the final broken, sobbed apology and a promise that it wouldn't happen again.

He fell asleep easier that night, the huge dark rings under his eyes probably having something to do with it. That, of course, left Lukas alone in his vigil, gently carding his fingers through his hair and watching his face twist in pain; soft, unconscious whimpers escaping the barely parted, thin lips. He would have thought it obvious why he did this, to be honest.

Love from a God who claimed to be all loving, yet petulantly demanded punishment for not choosing Him over life... He had no patience for that. He had no interest in loving a being that was so... Immature, so cruel, so selfish. Their lives were short. He didn't want to waste his constantly striving for love from a creation such as that. Better a person who always tried his best; made him smile and laugh; looked after him and his little brother; tried to sneak pieces of coarse bread onto his plate from his own, laughing and saying that he needed to put on more weight when he protested and made him take it back; who was stubborn and loyal and honest and a complete and utter idiot. 

Better a flawed, beautiful human such as that than someone who demanded love with such sadistic, childish, crushing glee.

That was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> "Jesus Christ, the condescension of divinity, and the exaltation of humanity." - Phillips Brooks
> 
> Thanks to Jojo for beta-ing!


End file.
